Free Joan Little
How a murder trial galvanized a revolutionary movement.
“Somebody has to make the sacrifice in order for there to be a change in the system.
So it may as well be me.” – Joan Little
ABOUT THE FILM
FREE JOAN LITTLE tells the story of the landmark 1975 murder trial of the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault. At 20 years old, Joan (pronounced Jo-Ann) Little was incarcerated in North Carolina when she killed a white jailer who she said tried to rape her. Her trial drew national attention, becoming a rallying point for civil rights, women’s rights and prison reform. The case brought together activists including Angela Davis and Rosa Parks, and catalyzed a national conversation about sexual assault and racial justice. Little’s fight for freedom remains a defining moment in American legal and social history.
Upcoming Events
Recent Coverage
The Mystery of the Joan Little Case
A Black woman claimed self-defense after killing her jailer. Her 1975 high-profile trial shook the American South, and a recent documentary highlights eternal questions about juries and public pressure. Read more …
Joan Little’s Fight for Justice
In the 1970s, Joan Little was a young, poor Black woman who killed a Beaufort County detention officer who she said tried to sexually assault her. Her case sparked an international movement, and now filmmaker Yoruba Richen Read more …
The People Set Me Free:
Yoruba Richen on “Free Joan Little”
In August 1974, a twenty-year-old Black woman named Joan Little, who was incarcerated in the Beaufort County jail in rural North Carolina, was attacked by a white guard named Clarence Alligood, who tried to rape her. Read more…
A Landmark Self-Defense Case
in the Age of Mass Incarceration
In August 1974, a hunt began near the Beaufort County jail in North Carolina. A female inmate had escaped, and a prison guard was dead. Police went after her on foot, and helicopters searched from overhead. Read more…
Conversations with Jim Zirin
Yoruba Richen, award-winning documentary filmmaker and the founding director of the documentary film program at the Craig Newmark graduate school of journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY) talks about her latest project, a blockbuster film called “Free Joan Little.” Watch now…
Democracy Now!
The new documentary Free Joan Little chronicles the landmark case of the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted on the grounds of self-defense against sexual violence. Joan Little’s 1975 murder trial inspired a national campaign for racial justice, prisoners’ rights, and survivors’ rights to self-defense. Read more…
A Promised Land Film in association with Retro Report
Directed and Produced by Yoruba Richen
Produced by Christalyn Hampton and Bonnie Bertram
Edited by Hannah Vanderlan
Director/ Producer Yoruba Richen is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who won a Trailblazer award from Black Public Media. Her most recent film, “American Coup: Wilmington 1898,” was nominated for a Peabody Award. Her film “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks” won a Peabody Award, a Gracie Award, and was honored by the Television Academy. Other recent works include the Emmy-nominated films “American Reckoning” and “How It Feels to Be Free.” Her film, “The Killing of Breonna Taylor,” won an NAACP Image Award. Yoruba is the Founding Director of the Documentary Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at C.U.N.Y.
LENGTH: 35 minutes
LANGUAGE: English
COUNTRY: USA
YEAR: 2025
